Saying Kostner is the closest if her jumps had been more reliable is like saying Sasha is the female skater who has everything, except for the whole lack of consistency thing.

Sasha, even with consistency, is not half the skater most of the top tier skaters today are. Even if Sasha can land 7 triples, her flutz is still a flutz, her tiny jumps are still tiny, her low level spins are still low level, her shallow edge throughout her step sequence is still shallow. Do you understand this?

Kostner has textbook jumps in EVERY SINGLE triple. Has unmatched skating skill. Her jumps are huge. Her speed is blazing. sky_fly20 is hyperbolic, but it's not exactly unimaginable that a clean Kostner is as special as a unicorn. A clean Sasha is just an average skater with average skill and below average jumps and undeserved praised for steps and spins.

Saying Kostner is the closest if her jumps had been more reliable is like saying Sasha is the female skater who has everything, except for the whole lack of consistency thing.

You're actually suggesting Carolina is closest to being the female skater who has everything... more than Michelle Kwan....

Although, tbh, I'm disappointed you didn't suggest someone even more ludicrous like Gold.

Kwan was more consistent yes that is true, probably the reason her ubers think she's so great
she had great spirals that is all

Carolina has good edge on her jumps even her lutz !, her issues were mental not jump techniques
Sasha Cohen even if she was more consistent would never be at par with Carolina
look at how Carolina strokes in the ice, she never loses speed, step seq and skating skill is unmatched not even Mao or Yuna could ever get
she has great body type too, so yes she is the closest to an ideal skater

Carolina is the closest had her jumps been more reliable in the big events
she has speed, jumps and a body type ideal for both presenting herself and long stroking on the ice
Kostner is perfect for galas at least

Yeah, I guess being a skater with the most clean programs, winning 9 nationals and 5 worlds and two Olympic medals doesn't mean much?? You try and find another skater with Michelle's consistency. Lemme tell ya, in this sport consistency is the name of the game. It is what all skaters strive for and dream of. The reason she is always so highly praised is due to the fact that she brought down the house time and time again. If 'the only good thing about her was her spirals' than a lot of judges have a lot of explaining to do. She is an exceptional skater.
You may not care for her skating, but to say she s overrated and that her spirals were her only asset is just ignorant and laughable.

Kwan was more consistent yes that is true, probably the reason her ubers think she's so great
she had great spirals that is all

Carolina has good edge on her jumps even her lutz !, her issues were mental not jump techniques
Sasha Cohen even if she was more consistent would never be at par with Carolina
look at how Carolina strokes in the ice, she never loses speed, step seq and skating skill is unmatched not even Mao or Yuna could ever get
she has great body type too, so yes she is the closest to an ideal skater

And Carolina's spins? Clearly, the ideal.

Consistency is the name of the game. Saying a skater with poor consistency would be the best possible is worse than hypothetical, because it is a critical factor in their success. And yes, to say Kwan was only spirals is ignorant at best and just pure haterade at its worst.

Consistency is the name of the game. Saying a skater with poor consistency would be the best possible is worse than hypothetical, because it is a critical factor in their success. And yes, to say Kwan was only spirals is ignorant at best and just pure haterade at its worst.

the thread is about a skater if possible who has the most in everything, no ?
if it were about the most consistent and the most number of medals then sure it will go to Kwan or Yuna

Carolina's spins is not ideal
but like I said she is the closest to a skater that has everything

One of the all-time greatests, Denise Bielmann.
Here she won the LP in the Olympic Games in 1980, when triple jumps almost didn't exist in the ladies competition.
Remember that Witt won the next 2 Olympics with only 2 kind of triples (toe-loop and salchow), and here years before that Denise Bielmann besides of her innovative, legendary spins, she did 3 Lutz ( a true one!!), 3 toe-loop, 3 Salchow and more 2 Axels in combinations !!

She won the LP here but was only 4th overall because of her weak figures.

A year later she won the European and World and retired as an amateur skater having a very long and attractive pro-carrier until her 40s, keeping her incredible shape and athleticism, winning several Pro Worldchampion titles constantly won the pro competitions over the great Yuka Sato, Yamaguchi and than Witt...

Here is her performance winning the 1981. World title. With this she could easily win the Olympic in 1984,1988, 1992 when she was all active as a pro-skater!!!
After 33 years this LP is still look familiar , very modern an COP-friendly!!!

In 1994, in her age of 31, she won over the new Olympic Champion, Oksana Baiul in the Pro Championships with this breathtaking performance, 13 years after her winning the World in 1981, with a performance like this:

I wouldn't say Sasha was more musical than Michelle. Sasha had a lot of flair and beautiful positions, but I always felt Michelle had more choreographic vision and purpose in her movements. At her best, Michelle came close to having it all. There were simply no glaring weaknesses in her skating. She didn't have Sasha's flexibility but none of her positions were unsightly. She didn't have the most difficult jumps, but her jump content was still competitive during the era she was competing. She regularly attempted a 7 triple layout. On top of that, she had artistic vision and performance factor that were just unrivaled by anyone else.

Yeah, I guess being a skater with the most clean programs, winning 9 nationals and 5 worlds and two Olympic medals doesn't mean much?? You try and find another skater with Michelle's consistency. Lemme tell ya, in this sport consistency is the name of the game. It is what all skaters strive for and dream of. The reason she is always so highly praised is due to the fact that she brought down the house time and time again. If 'the only good thing about her was her spirals' than a lot of judges have a lot of explaining to do. She is an exceptional skater.
You may not care for her skating, but to say she s overrated and that her spirals were her only asset is just ignorant and laughable.